


makin' me a mess

by itjustkindahappened



Series: skam fic week [1]
Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Accidental Relationship, Attempt at Humor, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, Kinda?????, M/M, Misunderstandings, Strangers to Lovers, isak is a mess but what's new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11801415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itjustkindahappened/pseuds/itjustkindahappened
Summary: The boy gives him a look of alarm, making a weak attempt at drawing his hand back, but Isak keeps holding it convulsively as he looks pleadingly into the stranger’s eyes.“Listen, this is super humiliating for me but I’m currently getting stood up on a date and my ex is a waiter here and he’s already been walking past my table too many times and looked far too satisfied for it to be casual so can you please just—pretend to be my date or something? I’ll pay for dinner and everything, I’m really sorry about this, I just—please?”





	makin' me a mess

**Author's Note:**

> me: i have not one, but two (2) chaptered fics in the works that i do wish do update remotely regularly and i do not have time for anything else.  
> me, a minute later: *joins skam fic week with zero preparation*  
> (i'm really, really sorry)
> 
> anyways i hope you enjoy this mess xx

There are two main reasons as to why this night might just be the worst night of Isak’s life.

One; Isak is on a date—at the restaurant where his ex-boyfriend works as a waiter.

Two; he is currently absolutely getting stood up on said date at said restaurant.

To his defence, Isak was hesitant about the whole ordeal—it was his friends who talked him into giving Tinder a go after enduring a near month of moping following a particularly bad breakup. David seemed nice enough, a law student with quick wits and freckles and Isak enjoyed talking to him, so when David suggested they finally meet up, Isak was on board.

Of course, when David suggested the exact restaurant that Isak’s ex worked at, Isak did in fact ask him if they could meet at another place. Any place, really. Isak would literally be fine with a McDonald’s date if it meant not being in Julian’s immediate vicinity. At last he even told David why he didn’t want to go there, to which David just answered;

_‘Wouldn’t that be fun, though? Making him watch you go on a date with someone else? It’s just the right amount of petty.’_

And well, Isak couldn’t argue with that. It did sound quite fun when put in that perspective, to be honest, and so he’d finally said yes.

But the thing is, without David here, it’s _not_ fun. It’s not fun at all. Because instead of Julian seeing Isak looking sharp and moving on with his life, Julian will now see Isak being stood up on a fancy dinner. Live in person.

Isak throws another look on his phone and notes it’s been 45 minutes since David and he were supposed to meet, and he curses himself out harshly for being so naïve as to think this thing would really work out in his favour in the end. He curses out David, too, for being an asshole, and he curses out his friends for talking him into this, they all have valid blame in this disaster, too, but mostly he just hates himself. He should’ve held his ground and moped until he didn’t feel like moping anymore, no matter how much his friends disliked seeing him sad. That’s their problem.

And now he’s stuck here, at a table for two, checking the time every five minutes, and the worst part? Julian definitely knows he’s here. He’s walked past several times already, throwing the most unsubtle glances Isak’s way every time as he straightens out some folded napkins and double checks table settings and does other unproductive work he’s making up on the spot to have an excuse to keep revelling in Isak’s misfortune up-close. The only thing that’s making this situation a tiny bit more bearable is the couple at the table next to Isak’s own, who are evidently going through a hushed, but inevitably bad, breakup. Which, when Isak thinks it through a second time, might sound a bit cruel, but he does find a sort of bittersweet consolation in the fact that he’s not the only one having a terrible time at this restaurant tonight. And that he’s not the only one getting broken up with in general.

When the clock strikes the one-hour mark, Isak’s stomach turns for real and it fully dawns on him that yeah, this is a no show. He’s being publicly humiliated by a guy he’s never met in person. And just as he thinks that, Julian passes him on the way back to the kitchen, unnecessarily close, and Isak can feel him ooze self-satisfaction. Isak just knows it’s going to take next to nothing for him to have a genuine mental breakdown at this point. It’s only a matter of time before he snaps for good.

And true to his words, the final straw for him comes when the girl at the table next to him raises to storm out of the quiet argument she’s been involved in and leaving the restaurant for good. Isak almost chokes up, because this means their terrible night is over. The only people in here probably suffering on the same level as Isak is now leaving Isak alone in his misery, and he honestly feels betrayed. He really thought they were in this together, that couple and him. Silently soul-bound by sharing the shittiest night of their lives, and now even _they’re_ bailing on him?

So when he hears the boy stand up too and come closer to pass Isak’s table on the way out, without thinking it through any further at all, he locks his hand around the stranger’s wrist and pulls him down in the chair opposite him.  

The boy gives him a look of alarm, making a weak attempt at drawing his hand back, but Isak keeps holding it convulsively as he looks pleadingly into the stranger’s eyes.

(The stranger’s blue, blue, eyes. Wide and radiant and nearly blinding, framed by thick, long lashes that Isak imagines brush across the soft skin of his cheeks when he sleeps. Isak has to put in a solid effort to not just stare slack-jawed in amazement for the rest of the night because he hasn’t until now realized just how unbelievably stunning this person is. He’s got a plump, rosy red mouth, too, and a defined jaw Isak kind of wants to run his fingers along.

_Fuck_.)

“Listen, this is super humiliating for me but I’m currently getting stood up on a date and my ex-boyfriend is a waiter here and he’s already been walking past my table too many times and looked far too satisfied for it to be casual so can you please just—pretend to be my date or something? I’ll pay for dinner and everything, I’m really sorry about this, I just— _please_?”

He finishes off with leaning a little closer to put more emphasis on how desperate he is, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth.

Pretty Stranger seems to be stunned into silence, and every single second passing by without a reaction feels stretched out over decades. For the longest time they just sit there, watching each other as Pretty Stranger tries to get a grip on the situation and Isak tries to convey just how badly he needs this with sheer telepathy.

At last, Pretty Stranger sinks back a little in his chair and narrows his eyes in thought.

“If your ex is a waiter and he’s been walking past here several times tonight, shouldn’t he also know that I came here with another person?” he at last supplies.

Isak’s eyes widen in panic as he finally lets go of Pretty Stranger’s wrist.

“ _Shit_ ,” he groans, “I didn’t think of that at all, I’m so sorry—”

“Is your ex the one with the dark ponytail?” Pretty Stranger suddenly cuts him off, eyes set on something behind Isak’s shoulder.

Isak frowns.

“…Yeah. That’d be the one.”

“He’s coming over here.”

“ _No_ —”

“Coming closer.”

“Isak?”

And Isak knows that voice far too well, knows just the way it rings out a little rough on the edges when it’s confused, just like it’s doing right now, and he just has time to shut his eyes tightly and breathe out an “oh, _no_ ,” before having to look up and straight into the face of Julian Dahl for the first time since he left Isak’s apartment about a month ago.

“Julian,” he greets, swallowing roughly.

It’s silent for a beat, Julian looking between the two boys at the table, looking at the nice dining set-up, looking over at the table Even and his now ex-girlfriend abandoned a while ago, looking back at the pair, slowly connecting all the wrong dots.

“Is _he_ your date?” he asks at last, looking gravely incredulous.

Yeah, this is a disaster and Isak is going to die.

He opens his mouth to stutter out a vague, sweaty reply, already dreading the conversation impending inevitably on him. He honestly deserves this. He deserves this for agreeing to this date, he deserves this for pulling a stranger into his mess in an attempt to save his own honour, he deserves this for not thinking through that plan at all. He’s going to be brutally exposed from one angle or the other, and he can’t even comfort himself with the thought that it’s someone else’s fault.

But as an angel answering a prayer for help, Pretty Stranger choose that moment to cut in and answer for him.

“Yeah, I am,” he says, firing off a charming grin. “I’m Even, nice to meet you.”

If they weren’t in a public place and if Julian didn’t stand in front of them right now, Isak would probably fall to his knees and kiss Even’s shoes right there and then out of sheer gratitude. He stays silent, but dares to put on a small smile as he watches Even’s suave demeanour, looking completely comfortable and sincere and like he belongs, letting Julian just eye him up and down as judgmentally as he pleases.

“Not that this is any of my business, but where’s your girlfriend?”

“What girlfriend?”

“The one you came with?”

“ _Oh_ , right,” Even nods like he’s just now remembering her. “We broke up. Is it in your job description to be this interested in your customers?”

Julian just stares between them for a good ten seconds, a disgusted wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

“That’s _cold_ ,” he says, attention now completely on Isak, and his voice is so icy Isak nearly shivers. “That’s low even for you, Valtersen.”

God, this looks so, so bad, Isak can only imagine. He can’t even blame Julian for reacting like he does—Isak would, too, be disgusted if he were presented with the situation and information at hand, coming to the same conclusions Julian must be right now. It genuinely looks like Isak’s been sitting here listening in on Even’s breakup, waiting for his girlfriend to leave so he can finally have Even to himself.

Which is _not_ the impression he’s going for tonight. But they’re already too far gone to backtrack on anything, so he goes for a weak shrug and a:

“None of your business, was it?”

It’s both agonizing and entertaining to watch the blatantly repulsed grimace Julian’s face morphs into, and he shakes his head and snorts out a bitter laugh.

“I’m going to get you another waiter. There’s no way I’m going to do this,” he just says, and then hurries away from their table with a bit more force in his steps than necessary.

Isak and Even just watch him leave wordlessly. When he’s finally out of sight, Isak puts his head down on the table and nearly sobs.

“I’m _so_ fucking sorry,” he exclaims wheezily when he’s somewhat emotionally stable enough to witness Even’s reaction, “I just dragged you into this, completely uncalled for, and now I’ve made us look like _cheaters_ in front of my fucking _ex_. That’s so bad. This is _so bad_. I’m _awful_.”

He’s preparing to apologize for forever, but when he gets a proper look of Even again the other boy’s reaction fully dawns on him.

Even is laughing.

He’s _laughing_. Huffing into the back of his hand to stifle it, but his eyes are crinkled up and twinkling with delight, and Isak can’t do anything but watch him with a puzzled expression.

(Slightly awed, too, he’s sure, because Even’s smile could light up a night sky and Isak’s always been bad at concealing his emotions.)

“Has anyone ever told you you’re great with first impressions?” he asks, shoulders still moving with silent laughter, and Isak can feel the shadow of a relieved grin dancing in his dimples.

“All the time,” he chuckles faintly.

That’s when a new waitress comes around, a petite woman with her auburn hair tucked into a bun, and asks for their order. Isak scrambles with the menu and picks the first thing he sees—a chicken alfredo—and Even orders a mushroom risotto and a bottle of wine for them before the waitress scurries off again.

“You just knew they had a mushroom risotto on the menu?” Isak raises an eyebrow at Even.

“I’ve already eaten it once tonight. So, yes,” Even quips, and Isak grimaces.

“Fuck, right. You must already be full and everything, I’m—”

“It’s _fine_ , Isak. Really.”

And Even looks earnest and pretty in the faint, warm light of the lit candle on the table, so Isak doesn’t argue on the matter.

A silence falls between them then for a while, and it’s not uncomfortable as much as pensive. Isak chews on the inside of his cheek. He figures he has to say something about the obvious, too, so after a few deep in-and-exhales, he says:

“I’m sorry, by the way. About, you know. Your girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Even corrects absent-mindedly, but he doesn’t seem too torn up about it. “It’s okay. It was a long time coming.”

Isak nods with a small “oh” and looks down on his lap again.

“Well, thank you, anyway,” he tries again, fiddling with the hem of his shirt to avoid eye contact. “For being my fake date tonight and everything.”

Even snorts and raises his eyebrows in mock offence.  

“Fake date? You drag me into this and I only get a _fake_ date in return?”

Even though his eyes are too bright with amusement to be serious, Isak still finds himself flustered and stumbling over syllables at what the other boy’s words could mean.

“I mean—I didn’t—I don’t know—”

“It’s _okay_ ,” Even giggles—he _giggles_ and Isak is for sure going to lose his mind—and props his elbow up on the table so he can rest his chin in his palm. “I’m just teasing. I mean, if—if you don’t want a real date that’s fine.”

“No!” Isak exclaims a bit too fast. He clears his throat as he feels a hotness rise from his neck and up to his ears. “I mean. I wouldn’t mind. Like, if it was a real date. I wouldn’t mind that.”

Even purses his mouth, his gaze melting into something Isak dares to interpret as hopeful.

“No?”

“No.” Isak shakes his head.

“Well, then. Let’s date.”

“Let’s.”

Their bottle of wine comes in then, their new and significantly friendlier waitress pouring the deep red liquid into their glasses as Isak and Even share giddy glances over her arm, and something inside Isak’s belly is stirring and singing and if someone had told him half an hour ago that he’d end up here, he would’ve broken down in tears and asked them to not make fun of him.

“So who was the dick?” Even asks conversationally as soon as she’s left again, and Isak just gives him a blank look. “The one who stood you up.”

“Uh,” Isak scratches his neck. “Just some guy. I’ve never met him in person. My friends have been on me for the longest time to get Tinder so something, so I did. Won’t try it again, I don’t think.”

God, he sounds like such a pathetic loser. He takes a sip of his wine to have an excuse to not talk more and to avert his gaze, and he feels like the wine’s bleeding through his skin and staining his cheeks with how much he must be blushing right now.

“Full of unreliable people, Tinder,” Even hums, nodding in small motions.

“Do you know that from experience?”

“ _God_ , no, I’m not on there.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, I’m not judging you! That’s a perfectly fine way of meeting new people.”

“You’re literally witnessing what’s been the most mortifying experience of my life. It’s okay if you judge me a little.”

Even shakes his head.

“You know who I do judge?”

“Who?”

“Your no-show Tinder _date_. What the fuck is _his_ problem?”

“Honestly? That’s a good fucking point.”

“I bet he chose the restaurant, didn’t he?”

“He _did_.”

“What an asshole.”

“You know what? In hindsight, I’m really glad he didn’t show.”

“In hindsight?” Even’s are sparkling waters when he leans in closer, as if what he’s about to say is a precious secret between the two of them, and Isak can barely breathe. “Me too.”

Isak’s eyelids flutter from the proximity and intensity from Even’s gaze on him, and he exhales sharply (and embarrassingly), trying to recompose himself. The effect Even has on him is going to put him in trouble, and he honestly doesn’t need a single additional embarrassment tonight. He’s done with that. It’s a new night now, he decides, starting this moment, where Isak’s on a date with the prettiest boy he’s ever seen and they exchange looks and smiles like their respective worlds are meant just for the other. 

“Let’s start this whole night over,” Isak says determinedly, holding out his hand over the table. “I’m Isak. I’ve never been stood up in my entire life and all my past relationship have ended amicably.”

“Wow,” Even grins teasingly. “You’re going to start this date out by lying to me? Bad move.”

“Don’t question my methods. I’m the master of dating, Even.”

“Clearly.”

“You know, I really don’t like that tone. A real no for me when dating, just for future reference.”

Even laughs again, and Isak keeps silent count of every time it happens, his heart expanding significantly with every new number.

“I’m Even,” he allows at last, reaching out and shaking Isak’s hand. His grip is warm and just a little dry and his fingers are long and Isak’s thinks he’s glad that they’re such good hands. “And I totally don’t let a boy’s ex-boyfriend think I’m a douchebag just because I think said boy is cute and want to get on his good side.”

And Isak can’t fight off the bright, bubbly laughter that bursts out and takes over his entire face at that revelation, the brilliance of it spreading throughout his entire chest until his heart and lungs and stomach are all smiling, too.

 

~

 

There are two main reasons as to why this night might be a good night, after all.

One; Even laughs at all of Isak’s jokes and he colours Isak’s world yellow with every single pull of his mouth.

Two; Isak walks home with a new number in his phone and the taste of chocolate mousse and Even’s chaste goodnight kiss on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> can i ever truly write an evak fic that isn't completely ridiculous????? the answer is No
> 
> i'm actually quite excited abt fic week (despite the stress i'm signing myself up for) bc i've been wanting to venture into some other skam pairings for a while now and so i figured i'm going to do that the coming days :')))) 
> 
> thank you so much for reading, kudos and comments clear my skin and waters my crops and makes my heart sing, and as always you can come find me on tumblr @tequiladimples if you want and i'll shower you with love x


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